


Someone to Carry You

by sgteam14283



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Angst, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-11-07
Packaged: 2018-11-16 17:32:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11257590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgteam14283/pseuds/sgteam14283
Summary: When things get hard, Ryder can count on her allies. But can she count on Reyes Vidal?





	1. One

The ground lurched and it’s all Anna could do to stay on her feet. “I’m never gonna ask Umi for the strongest thing she has again.” she muttered while sliding down the wall outside of Kralla’s Song until she hits the floor, trying not to be sick. She could almost see the disapproving look Cora’ll give her when (if) she makes it back to the Tempest. But she doesn’t care because after SAM replayed the day her mother died the first thing she did was set a course for Kadara, wanting to get blackout drunk in the worst way. It was pure coincidence that she found Reyes in the bar instead of his normal haunt and had decided that drinking with someone she liked was better than drinking alone.

“You drank her stuff at Sloane’s party, you knew what you were getting into.” Reyes said with a hint of laughter in his voice. “I’m just glad I got you out of there before you starting dancing.”

Anna glared at Reyes who was holding out his hand, the silent offer to help her up hanging in the air. Taking his hand, she let him pull her up and almost immediately stumbled against the man. Smiling she looked into his eyes and had to blink for a few seconds because for a moment there were two of him. “ _Not that that would be a bad thing._ ” she thought as Reyes straightened them and looped her arm around the back of his neck.

Somehow they stumble through Kadara’s market and to Reyes’s apartment on the outskirts of the port. Through the blur of alcohol in her system, Anna didn’t notice much except the very comfortable bed that Reyes plonked her down on after taking off her jacket and saying something about getting water. Laying down, she sighed and let herself sink into the soft cover. “You have a _really_ nice bed.” Anna said while opening her eyes when she felt the bed shift, signaling that Reyes had returned. “Reminds me of the one I had back on Earth…at my parent’s place. I miss it sometimes…”

“Your parent’s place, the bed, or Earth?”

“Sometimes all three.” Anna said as Reyes set the glass of water down on the table beside the bed and laid down beside her. 

“Before…everything we used to have this place on the east coast of Australia, a few miles from the beach. Scott would spend days in the water, hoping to get that perfect wave while I’d just sun myself.” 

She turned her head to look at him and smiled. “The wind and sun against your face was just amazing during the winter, we could still go to the beach even though the water was cold as hell.” After a moment’s silence she whispered, “I miss them.”

“You still have Scott. And me.” Reyes replied softly while taking Anna’s hand and gently brushed his thumb across her knuckles. “I’m here whenever you need me.” 

Anna opened her mouth to reply but the room chose that moment to start spinning again and she let out a groan while she moved off the bed in an attempt not to get sick all over it. “SAM? Tell Kallo I’m changing our departure to tomorrow evening.”

—  
The rest of the night and morning passed rather quickly, that was the one good thing about Umi’s drinks; they fucking knocked you out, and Anna was dimly aware of Reyes leaving during that time as well. It was quiet for awhile then she heard the door open and cracking open an eye while stretching told her that Reyes was back. He was setting his pistol (or at least the one he kept visible) by the door and she smiled at the profile it created.

Sitting up she gave him a sleepy smile while running a hand through her hair. “Beat anyone up today?” she asked in a teasing tone as Reyes made his way towards her.

“No more than normal. How’s the hangover?” Reyes asked as he sat on the edge of the bed. 

Anna shrugged, “I’ve had worse. I’ll be okay if I don’t get into any gun fights.” She leaned in for a lingering kiss, letting Reyes know she was ready for more fun.

Reyes deepened the kiss and slowly moved until he was completely on the bed and straddling Anna. Breathing heavily, he broke the kiss only to remove his shirt while Anna did the same with her Initiative polo and bra. “I really hate that shirt, you know.” Reyes said in a low voice as he placed his hands on both sides of Anna’s head and looked down at her.

Anna let out a laugh at the statement, “Well I have to wear it since you ripped the other one. Besides, it’s either that or my Blasto tank and I like to pretend that I’m somewhat of a professional.”

Reyes chuckled and gave her another deep kiss while trailing a hand down Anna’s chest, pausing at her breast and palming it. Giving it a light squeeze, his stomach tightened at the hiss she let out and trailed kisses down her neck. Teeth scraping across her dark skin, Reyes smiled as Anna arched against him.

Wrapping her legs around him and pressing him against her, Anna closed her eyes and felt her stomach drop as Reyes began to trail kisses down her torso. “ _Finally sex in his fucking bed._ ” She thought to herself while smiling. “This is certainly a step up from the cave.”

Reyes paused and glanced up to see Anna laughing at the memory of the first time they’d had sex. “Is that so? If you preferred the cave I can happily arrange a repeat.” he said in-between kisses.

“That’s okay. This is _much_ softer than the ground.” Anna replied, inhaling sharply as Reyes laid kiss after kiss over her stomach. She was more than ready for him as he ran a hand up her thigh.

Suddenly there was a chirp as the motion sensor by his door activated followed by thumping on the actual door. “ _Go away Keema._ ” Reyes thought, assuming it was the Angaran since she was the only who knew where he lived.

“Aren’t you going to get that?” Anna asked, propping herself up to look at Reyes.

“No.” Reyes simply replied as he tried to ignore the continued pounding and gave her jawline a kiss.

“I think you should get that.” Anna replied as she fully sat up and pulled herself away from Reyes. “Besides, I’m not going anywhere.”

Reyes sighed but knew Anna was right, the sooner he figured out what Keema wanted the sooner he could get rid of her. Throwing a glare at the smirk Anna was giving him, he climbed off the bed and padded to the door-pausing to slip his pistol into the waistband of his pants and a shirt, leaving his ruffled hair as it was. “ _Let her know what I was in the middle of._ ”

Quickly pulling up his omni-tool to confirm that it _was_ Keema and not some bandit who suddenly decided he wanted Reyes’ rattrap of a place, he saw from the discreetly hidden camera outside that it was the Angaran and opened the door with a gruff, “What?”

“We found some of Kelly’s crew; they decided to hole up just outside the former Kett outpost.” Keema said while sending the data to his omni-tool. “They’ve got a stash of supplies that we could use as well.”

“Great. And you needed to tell me this now because…?”

“The boys want to move on it right away; while it’s still light and before Kelly’s men have a chance to settle in. But they won’t go without my-the Charlatan’s approval.”

Reyes let out a sigh and quickly scanned the data that Keema had sent him. It looked like it wouldn’t be a problem and if they were smart they should be able to deal with everything without too much trouble. “Send me a message when it’s done.”

“Will do. And tell the Pathfinder I said hello.” Keema replied with a smile as she turned to leave.

Reyes clenched his jaw and resisted the urge to hit his head against the doorframe. Taking a deep breath he walked back inside and relocked the door, hoping that Anna was still ready to go. But as he rounded the partition Reyes saw that she was pulling on her shirt. “Want me to ruin that one as well?” he asked in what he hoped was a light tone, hiding what he really knew that meant.

Anna shook her head, “I have to get back to the Tempest. Tann needs me back at the Nexus to deal with some Pathfinder bullshit ASAP.”

“Can’t it wait twenty minutes?”

“Not even. Sorry.” 

Reyes let out a sigh; this was one of the many downsides of Anna being a Pathfinder, always at the beck and call of the high and mighty Nexus. Giving her a few deep kisses he said, “Can you at least message me later? Maybe we can finish our…encounter then.”

Anna smiled of the mental image and gave him one last kiss before picking up her jacket, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Reyes watched Anna leave and as the door slid shut, sat on the edge of the bed. He sat there for a few minutes before pulling on his gear and grabbing his rifle while heading out the door. If he was going to be alone for the rest of the day, then he could join in the raid and take his anger out on someone who (probably) deserved it.


	2. Two

The sun was barely peeking over the mountains on Kadara and Anna took a moment to savor the early morning stillness. Finally back in the field since Meridian, she wasn’t going to complain that it was to track down some Outcast raiders that were harassing Ditaeon. Stepping off the ramp she shivered against the chill that was seeping through her armor and cautiously stepped to the side as the Gil started to unload the Nomad.

_Shall I let Mr. Vidal know that you have arrived Pathfinder? I am sure he would be more than willing to lend a hand._

Anna swung her gaze towards the fence and hesitated for a second. SAM was right, Reyes could probably help at the very least by giving her information about the remaining Outcasts, but at the same time didn’t want to waste time with a side-trip to Tartarus. There was a backlog of things she needed to do around the cluster and Anna knew that if she saw Reyes he’d delay her (in a good way) even more. “Just message him that we’re headed out to Ditaeon for a few days. And message Christmas that we’ll be there around midday.”

_Certainly Pathfinder._

“Try not to get the paint job so scratched this time, I just finished the touch-ups from Voeld.” Gil said as he finished unhooking the tow cables from the Nomad. 

“I make no promises. Get some sleep Gil, you’ve been up too long.” Anna said as she finished checking her thermal clips and attached them to her armor. 

“I make no promises.”

Anna turned to ask Vetra a question but paused when she saw Scott in his Initiative armor and headed towards them. Putting her hands on her hips she raised an eyebrow, “Where do you think you’re going?”

“With you. Lexi cleared me to walk around so I figured I’d finally meet your boyfriend.” Scott said with a wink as he walked past Anna.

“Not my boyfriend.” Anna replied with a sigh as she turned to follow him. “He’s just…an acquaintance.”

“An acquaintance you had sex with in a storage room on the Hyperion.” PeeBee said as she strolled by with a smile. “Just tell me you guys haven’t done it in the Nomad.”

Anna pinched the bridge of her nose before responding, “What is this, ‘talk about the Pathfinder’s personal life’ day? Because it’s none of your business.”

“…So that’s a yes?”

“PeeBee!” Anna snapped as she tried to regain control of the situation. “Scott, you can tag along to Ditaeon and that’s as far as you go. PeeBee, if you don’t want to be left on Kadara I suggest shutting the hell up. Liam, let’s go!” 

—

_Pathfinder._

Anna dimly heard SAM’s voice and inwardly groaned. “ _Maybe if I don’t reply SAM’ll get the hint._ ” she thought, realizing that her head was throbbing and as she moved to rub her forehead realized that her arm felt heavier than normal. “ _Did I fall asleep on the floor again?_ ”

_Pathfinder._

“What?” she snapped without opening her eyes, hoping SAM wouldn’t turn on the lights at the response.

_You’ve been out for approximately three and a half hours. With the dose of Oblivion you were given, remaining asleep for much longer would be inadvisable. Particularly since I am unable to give the Tempest your location._

“ _What!?_ ” Anna snapped open her eyes at the statement, sitting up and instantly regretted it. “Ugh.” she groaned as her vision swam and her stomach rolled.

_I have mitigated most of the effects of the Oblivion but you will still experience nausea._

“Guess I should have destroyed the formula when I had the chance.” Anna said through clenched teeth as she tried to regulate her breathing. Once it had finally passed, she took a final steadying breath and looked at her surroundings. The cage was big enough to cover at least a quarter of the room she was currently in and enough space that she could walk from one end to the other in a few steps and brush her fingertips against the ceiling. “At least they left my survival suit.” she muttered while stretching her aching muscles and let out a sigh at the tension being released.

“Hey SAM?”

_Yes Pathfinder?_

“Are PeeBee and Liam here too?”

_It is unknown if Mr. Kosta and Ms. B’Sayle are currently located in the compound._

“Guess.”

_There is a fifty percent chance they are elsewhere._

“…that doesn’t help.” Anna shook her head and ignored the dizziness the movement set off. “For now let’s operate under the assumption that the Outcasts only wanted me. Why?”

_That data point is unknown._

“Extrapolate then.” Anna tried to keep the frustration from her voice because it was wasn’t SAM’s fault he was working with limited information. As the AI answered she began to slowly pace back and forth the length of the cage.

_They may be in search of information._

“And they don’t care about kidnapping the human Pathfinder because all it’s going to do is just bring a shitload of trouble to their doorstep. You said you can’t figure out my location, why?”

_High concentrations of titanium, cadmium, and aluminum are making it difficult to determine your current location._

“Can you contact the Tempest?”

_I am unable to reach either Ms. Harper or Ms. Anwar._

Anna was silent for a few seconds, trying to figure everything SAM had told her. “Titanium, cadmium, and aluminum…that narrows it down to a handful of planets. And I was out for around four hours, that means they couldn’t have taken me far from the Govorkam system…maybe. SAM, what’s the chance I’m still on Kadara?”

_Twenty percent._

Anna sighed while running a hand through her hair and glancing out of the window that was just high enough for her to see that it was against rock so she had no idea if it was still even daylight outside. And even if she was still on Kadara there were enough hidden spots that it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. “Okay…so I just have to wait until the cavalry arrives.”

_That may take some time Pathfinder._

“Yeah, no kidding.” Anna stopped her pacing and sat down, suddenly tired from the limited movement. A second later she heard muffled talking outside of the door and leaned against the wall, not wanting to see whomever was about to come in see that she was unnerved. Then the door opened and she saw who was on the other side.

“Oh fuck this.”  
—

Reyes strolled through the market with an air of boredom, but in reality he was distracted. The remaining Outcast groups were continuing to be a thorn in his side; disrupting his operations and hassling the Initiative outpost and with the Badlands being as mountainous as it was, finding out where they were based was almost impossible. He had gotten a message from Anna that morning that she was on Kadara to deal with the ones that had been showing up at Ditaeon and wondered if he could persuade her to come to his apartment before she left; it had been a few months since they last saw each other, their duties keeping both busy and sometimes vidcalls weren’t enough.

As he neared the throne room, Reyes saw Christmas walking out-talking in low tones with the Initiative personnel by his side. Finding that odd, because Christmas normally stuck to the market and Kralla's Song, Reyes was instantly on alert; hand casually brushing past his holster to unsnap it, just in case. Barely nodding to the guards at the door, Reyes slipped through as it closed and hung back while scanning the room. Keema was up front in the throne as usual, the guards she kept for intimidation as well as safety were on either side of the room, and two of Anna’s crew-Cora and Vetra-with a third man in blue and white Initiative armor.

“-would not be Collective.”

“Bullshit.” Reyes stared at the back of the man who spit out the word, narrowing his eyes at how familiar the word sounded coming from him. A quick glance from Keema told him that she knew he was there but didn’t say anything as the man continued. “They were wearing Collective colors and-”

Keema held up a hand to cut him off. “As I already said, the Collective has orders to leave the Pathfinder alone, especially now that we’re working together. Isn’t that correct Reyes?”

Reyes opened his mouth to reply but before he could get a word out the stranger was in front of him and grabbed his armor, pulling Reyes close. There was the sound of guns being loaded as Vetra yelled, “Scott!”

“ _Anna’s brother. That explains the biotics._ ” Reyes thought as he discreetly signaled for the guards to stand down while flashing Scott a smile. “It seems you and your sister have a lot in common.” 

“Where is she, asshole?” Scott ground out while pulling Reyes even closer to him.

“Scott, let Reyes go.” Cora said while taking a hesitant step towards the pair.

Reyes’ eyes quickly flitted around the room; the guards had relaxed but their fingers were still on the trigger, Cora and Vetra had their hands hovering near their weapons, and Keema had risen from her seat and was waiting to see what was going to happen next. Looking back at Scott, he saw that the man’s eyes were filled with a mix of anger and worry.

“Anna’s missing.” He simply said, it all falling into place; Christmas and his lackey showing up, Scott’s instance that the Collective was to blame, even Cora’s presence filling in the blanks.

“No kidding. Now where is she?”

“Not with us. All I got was a message this morning saying she was headed to Ditaeon for a few days. Confirm it with SAM.”

“The Tempest lost contact with SAM as well.”

“And your first thought was that I did it?" 

Cora crossed her arms while saying, “Ryder and her team were following a lead from Christmas that he says he got from one of your guys. And when they went to check it out they were ambushed; Liam and PeeBee both said that before they were knocked out they saw guys wearing Collective colors. Besides, who else would know how to take out SAM as well?”

“ _Anyone with a basic understanding of AI and the tools to do it._ ” Reyes thought, knowing that if he voiced that opinion then that would help the situation he was currently in. He was far from being a genius, but he didn’t become King of Kadara just by sheer luck, because only knowing the basic situation he could see that this was a wild goose chase for the Initiative. “And so you followed the breadcrumbs.” 

Realization dawned on Scott’s face and he glanced back at Cora and Vetra, both of whom had similar looks. “ _Shit._ ” he breathed while letting go and taking a step back. “Let’s go.” Scott snapped, heading for the doorway without saying anything else.

Reyes watched Cora and Vetra follow, the latter giving a somewhat apologizing shrug as she walked past, but wasn’t surprised at the lack of remorse; of course they’d assume he’d try to leverage the Initiative through kidnapping the human Pathfinder. As soon as the doors shut he walked towards the liquor cabinet that was always stocked with at least one bottle of whiskey. “We have another problem. Or rather the same problem, amplified.” he said while pouring himself a rather large portion.

“More than one problem actually.” Keema replied after she dismissed the guards and they had left. She trusted them but somethings needed to be discussed in private. “If they did take her, they want to know who you really are.”

“I should’ve taken out Kaetus when I had the chance.” Reyes said after taking a hefty pull of his drink, his mind already working on the issue at hand. It wasn’t hard to figure out that he was behind this; he wanted to find out who the Charlatan really was to get revenge for Sloane. And to do that he took Anna because she'd been there and knew who he was. “Then we wouldn’t have this problem.”

“Kaetus figured out your weakness. She’s a liability, now more than ever. He wants to draw you out, to make a mistake and exploit it.”

“Which is why we play this smart.” Reyes snapped, setting the glass down with a loud _thump_ , ignoring the whiskey that sloshed over the edge and onto the counter. “Let the Tempest crew run all over the Badlands looking while we find our leak and where she is. To the rest of the port and cluster, it's business as usual.”

“And how do we find the leak?” Keema raised an eyebrow while folding her arms. 

“Like we usually do. Call the boys and tell them the Charlatan’s sending me to help.” Reyes replied before striding out of the room. It was one thing to come after him and the Collective head on, he expected it-even welcomed it, but another thing altogether to go after someone he cared about to try and leverage him into making a mistake. 

As he strode through the market towards the slums, he might outwardly look calm and collected, but on the inside he was filled with anger. And Reyes had demonstrated before why whomever he was coming for should be afraid when he was like this.

He would raze Kadara to the ground if that meant Anna would be safe.


	3. Three

Anna waited for the door to slide shut before throwing up. Even though she hadn’t eaten in two days there wasn’t anything to get rid of, but considering she’d been on the receiving end of some powerful punches it was the least she could do. Wiping her mouth, she grimaced at the acrid taste at the back of the throat and leaned against the wall while closing her eyes-trying to hold back the tears. It had been two very long days, trying to run out the clock until Scott and whoever else showed up. 

Two days of Kaetus using his men to beat who the Charlatan was out of her. 

Kaetus had shown up that first day to gloat that he’d kidnapped the human Pathfinder, but she had pointed out that without that well timed stun grenade he wouldn’t have and he just glowered at her. He’d asked who the Charlatan was and Anna had just laughed, like she was going to give up the man she was currently sleeping with. Then as three Outcast lackeys walked in said that he was going to make good on his promise from when he was imprisoned. 

Then the real fun had begun.

Anna had grown up a soldier kid, Alec teaching them to fight as soon as they were old enough, so she’d taken her share of punches-but she’d always been able to hit back. The first time she’d been hit particularly hard she’d snapped and head-butted the nearest one, sending him reeling back and tripping over his feet to fall onto the ground. Anna had gotten a laugh out of that, but the guy hadn’t found it half as funny and responded with another punch, this one making her see spots. 

“Hey SAM?” Anna asked, suddenly having a thought and mentally kicking herself for not thinking of it sooner.

_Yes Pathfinder?_

“Do you think Reyes is looking for me?” Anna had gotten a whiff of sulfur the last time Kaetus’ grunts had waltzed in and took that as confirmation that she was still on Kadara. She just hoped Scott and the others hadn’t left the planet yet.

_Taking his past history, and his emotional connection to you, into account there is a ninety-five percent chance Mr. Vidal has joined the search effort._

“That low huh. Any luck contacting the Tempest yet?”

_My communication functions are still struggling to connect to the Tempest._

Anna sighed, grimacing at the discomfort that the action brought. “Awesome. Well, they have to figure I’m still alive since you haven’t transferred to Cora yet.”

_That is accurate._

“So much for twin telepathy.” Anna muttered as she slowly shifted until she was on her back and staring at the ceiling, finding that the position eased the heavy feeling in her chest. “I’m gonna kick Scott's ass for this.”

—

The salarian screamed as Reyes withdrew the knife and threw it towards the wall in a fit of frustration, lodging with a dull _thud_. Taking a step back, he wiped the blood off of his forehead and tried to suppress his rage. It was the fourth day the Pathfinder was MIA and everyone was on edge; the Tempest becoming even more infrequent with their communications, and Reyes’ temper starting to fray. 

They could only contain this for so much longer before Scott had to tell Tann and the Initiative put boots on the ground to deal with the situation. From what little Scott told him, Tann was already starting to get suspicious and Reyes had a feeling that if the Initiative landed on Kadara they wouldn’t leave.

His own investigation had lead him to a small group of lower level couriers that had divided loyalties, thinking they could still play both sides of the field. Which had led them to harass Ditaeon to lure the Pathfinder to Kadara and ambush her while disguised at the Collective. Reyes didn’t like many things, but disloyalty was at the top of the list. 

But apparently they were more loyal to Kaetus than the Charlatan because for the past two days they’d refused to tell Reyes or his men where the Pathfinder was being held. Ignoring the sniffling coming from the salarian, Reyes walked to where he’d lodged the knife and gave it an experimental tug to see if it would pry loose. 

It gave a slight wobble but stuck fast.

Chuckling slightly at the absurdity of the situation, he pulled off his gloves while turning around and letting them fall as he walked towards the salarian once more. But before he could open his mouth the salarian spoke, “I’m dead either way.”

“So then tell me and I can make it quicker.” Reyes replied as he continued to walk around the chair. He paused for a few seconds, more for dramatics than anything else, before continuing. “The Charlatan wants me to make you the same proposition the rest of your crew is getting. Whoever talks first gets a relatively painless death, if you have family they’ll be compensated. The others however…well an example needs to be made.”

Before the salarian could reply, Reyes’ omni-tool vibrated and he glanced down, seeing that Scott had just sent a message. Not saying anything he walked out of the room while pulling it up, ignoring the salarian’s shouts that he’d talk.

_SAM just contacted the Tempest. Anna’s somewhere in the northern part of Kurinth’s valley, but couldn’t say where. We’re in Spirits Lodge, you’re the closest._

“ _It's a trap._ ” Reyes thought as he stared at the message, but at the same time wanted to run towards his shuttle and fly there. Even if Reyes and his men were closer, it would still take time to ready everything and head out.

Time Anna might not have.

Making up his mind, Reyes strode into the main hub of the Collective base, “Mason, get the rest of the crew-we’ve got a lead on the Pathfinder.”

“What does the Charlatan want done with the ones we picked up?” Mason asked. He was someone Reyes had found to be reliable to keep his mouth shut and an excellent shot when it came down to it.

Reyes was silent for a second, considering their fate. “See what you can get out of the salarian. Tell Crux to make it two hours, then dump them where someone’ll find them in a day. And let it spread that they were caught double-dealing with the Outcasts.”

Mason nodded and went to tell the others while Reyes quickly replied to Scott and went to prep the shuttle.

—

It was raining.

Or at least it sounded like rain, the constant _tap tap tap_ , as Anna moved into that grey space between consciousness and unconsciousness; not sure if she was dreaming or if it was actually raining outside. “ _I can’t even remember the last time I heard rain. Probably 600 years ago._ ” she thought while feeling herself start to sink back down. 

Then there was a rumble, thunder maybe? And the building shook, causing pain to shoot throughout her body. Gritting her teeth, Anna was shoved back to reality; it wasn’t storming, but gunfire and explosions. 

“SAM? What’s going on?” Anna mumbled while struggling to sit up. Most of her body ached and Anna was sure that she had a bruised rib, if one that wasn’t outright broken, and her knee was shattered from a krogan stepping on it. SAM was blocking most of the pain, which Anna was grateful for because if she felt the full brunt of it she might just tell Kaetus about Reyes.

_I was able to contact the Tempest and give them an approximation as to where you were located._

“I…I thought you couldn’t contact the ship. That the minerals were…scrambling it or whatever.” she huffed out, grimacing at the pain in her side and pressed her hand against it. Lexi was going to have a field day mending her after this.

_Whatever was blocking my attempts suddenly disappeared._

“…It’s a trap.” She said as the door unlocked and Kaetus backed in, firing his gun as he did so. Letting a half-smile form Anna quipped, “Got tired of waiting huh?”

“Reyes fucking Vidal. I should’ve figured it out myself, that third rate smuggler was always good for a party. But that doesn’t matter, what does is that he can find your body like I did Sloane’s.” Kaetus said as he strode towards Anna and unlocked the cage, dragging her to the middle of the room.

Anna let out a whimper of pain, done with all this ‘brave face’ bullshit, and stumbled as Kaetus threw her to the ground in front of him. She heard him load his pistol and looked up to see him aiming it right at her. Swallowing thickly, she felt her heart pounding-although she didn’t know if it was from fear or the most exercise she’d gotten in five days. Knowing she had to do something, Anna ducked her head in what she hoped seemed like cowardice and whispered, “SAM biotic profile.”

_That would be unwise since you have had nothing to eat for several days. You had me change your biology to avoid such a thing._

“Just do it.” Anna hissed and a second later she felt that weird sensation in her head as SAM changed her brain back to being a biotic.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and hoped that this didn’t kill her; making a fist she charged up a lance and lobbed it at Kaetus. The blast knocked him off his feet and he the cage with a rattle, stunned for the moment.

“Asshole.” Anna ground out as she felt her legs start to wobble and the room started to spin. Collapsing as the shadows gathered around her, she dimly heard the door open and hoped that it was Reyes or at the very least Scott. 

Otherwise she’d have to have words with both of them about how to rescue someone.

—

Knowing Kadara as he did, it was relatively easy to figure out where in the valley Kaetus was holed up. Well that and the fact the salarian blabbed it the second Mason stepped in the room. Although that didn’t make his death any less painful, Reyes _did_ have an organization to run at the end of the day.

Landing the shuttle around the bend, and glad that the sun hadn’t risen yet, Reyes and his crew quietly made their way towards the mouth of the cave. Scott and the rest of the Tempest crew arrived shortly after, and Reyes paused while they set themselves up-letting Scott lob a grenade to catch them by surprise. After that things moved quickly, Drack leading the charge and Scott hanging back with his sniper rifle. Biotics were flying everywhere as Cora charged around the cave, taking out a small group of Outcasts with a nova and Scott throwing his own into the mix every so often. 

It was controlled chaos in the cave, with the Outcast forces being taken out at a steady rate, but Reyes was on the look out for one in particular. Finally he spotted Kaetus moving through the chaos into a building not far from him and knew that’s where Anna was. But trying to get to it was another story because with bullets still flying everywhere it would be risky to cross without help.

“Cover me.” he said to the two men with him while slinging his rifle onto its maglocks and pulling his pistol out. Waiting until they started firing, he was glad for his shield as bullets hit while running across the gap and up the steps. Pistol out, the doors opened and he stepped inside to see the Pathfinder falling to the floor.

“Anna!” A quick glance towards Kaetus told him that the turian wasn’t a threat for now and Reyes got down on his knees next to her. Rolling her so that she was on her back, he felt his breath hitch when he saw the cuts and bruises on her face; one eye swollen and who knows what else underneath her undersuit. Hand shaking from a mix of rage and worry, he placed two fingers on her throat and was relieved to find that there was still a pulse-however thready it was. Gently placing his hand on her shoulders, he said in a low tone, “Anna.”

Her head felt like it was in a vise, but someone was calling her name and scrunching up her face opened her eye to see Reyes filling her vision. “…Reyes?”

Reyes almost sagged with relief and smiled, “Yeah. We need to get you out of here. Can you walk?”

“Barely. My…” she trailed off, suddenly realizing what Reyes being here meant. Thickly swallowing Anna tried to hold back the tears that threatened to spill out. She knew that Scott and the rest would come, but in the back of her mind doubted that Reyes would; he’d want to protect the Collective and himself from all of this. “That five percent can kiss my ass.” she muttered, starting to drift off again.

“Hey, hey. Stay with me.” Reyes gently moved Anna’s head back up so she didn’t fall unconscious again. “SAM, you read me?”

_Yes Mr. Vidal._

“Can I move her?”

_I am attempting to regulate her cardiovascular system. The Pathfinder used her biotic abilities despite the strain it would cause her body._

“Damn it.” A quick glance towards Kaetus told Reyes that he was starting to wake up and needed to be dealt with before they left. With one last glance at Anna he picked up his pistol and stood, walking towards the turian. 

Anna dimly heard someone being dragged across the room, the crunch of bone breaking followed by gunshots and then...silence. It was becoming harder and harder to breathe, feeling like Drack was sitting on her chest, and realized that she wasn’t going to make it out of this after all. 

Well, it had been a good run.

“SAM…transfer to…Cora Harper…Pathfinder…” she trailed off, trying to remember her authorization code but couldn’t recall the sequence of numbers.

There were footsteps and someone…Reyes shaking her, saying in a tone laced with worry, “Anna! Shit, SAM…do _something_.” There was a pause as he ordered someone to get the shuttle ready, that he had the Pathfinder and they needed to get to the Tempest before it was too late. Then Reyes picked her up and the last thing she remembered was him saying, “I’ve got you.”


	4. Four

Anna could hear the sounds of the Tempest’s med bay, her body aching with almost every breath.

_Crash._

The sound of glass breaking is accompanied by muffled angry voices, followed by another scolding voice. “ _Did Scott break my Vortex glasses again? I thought after last time he promised he wouldn’t use them without asking. I'll just make him pick up more next time we're at the Nexus._ ” Anna thought while her head starts to pound again and felt herself start to slip back into sleep.

The next time Anna felt herself waking up, it’s to the annoying sounds of another med bay and cracking her eyes open, she’s almost blinded by the light; closing them almost immediately while letting out a groan.

There’s fumbling beside her, “Anna?”

Scott. 

Opening her eyes again things are a bit blurry, but it cleared quickly and Scott is staring at her with that concerned expression that almost makes him look like Alec. Frowning Anna took in her surroundings; the cloth partitions drawn around her and the white curved ceiling told her that she was on the Hyperion. “What…the hell?” she whispered, her voice slightly raspy.

“Hey. What do you remember?” Scott asked while shifting the chair he was in to face her.

“ _That’s a good question._ ” Anna thought while closing her eyes and trying to recall how she got to Meridian. 

Then it hit her like a brick wall. _The krogan stepping on her knee and hearing a crack…Kaetus with a pistol in front of her…Reyes dragging Kaetus away from her…“I’ve got you.”_

Anna felt her chest tighten at the rush of memories and snapped her eyes open, the panic clear on her face as she struggled to sit up. “Reyes…I need to talk to him.” 

“SAM.” Scott took Anna’s arm and helped her into a sitting position before carefully sitting on the side of the bed.

A few seconds later Anna felt her heartbeat slow and breathing even out. “Seriously SAM?”

_While I have been assisting, you are still recovering Pathfinder. Any shock to your system could be detrimental to the healing process._

Making a face she asks, “How long until Lexi reams me out?”

_Doctors T’Perro and Carlyle are currently en route. They should be arriving within the next few minutes._

“Ugh...how long have I have I been out Scott?”

“Three weeks.” 

“Damn…how mad is everyone?” 

“Not as mad as Lexi when SAM told her you used your biotics back in the cave.” Scott smiled faintly at the memory, despite the serious circumstances the Asari’s cursing had been impressive. “Tann was pretty pissed off too when he heard about the whole thing, said we should’ve informed him as soon as you went missing. Then he made a new rule that if any of the Pathfinders go dark for more than forty-eight hours without prior knowledge the Nexus has to be contacted. He also muttered something about a locator chip for you.”

Anna groaned and leaned her head against the wall. Just what she needed, more bureaucratic bullshit. “And Reyes?”

“Don’t worry. I kept his name out of the report and made sure everyone else did too.” Scott said with a bitterness in his voice that made Anna raise an eyebrow. “Called him a ‘local informant’ and said that Keema was helpful in the search-which she was when we’d radioed that we’d need to land the Tempest out in the Badlands. Had her people temporally clear a spot big enough so we could evac once you were on board. SAM says that’s what probably saved you. Well that and _Reyes_ getting to you so quickly.”

Anna narrowed her eyes looking at Scott and seeing the scowl on his face, “What’d he do to piss you off?” 

“Well for starters-”

“You’ll have to leave now Scott. Your sister and I have a lot to discuss.” Lexi interrupted as she appeared around the corner with Harry just behind her. She folded her arms while sending Anna a look that made her feel like she’s five again and got caught trying to levitate Scott with her biotics.

“Oh hey Lexi.” Anna says while giving the pair what she hoped was a confident smile.

“I’ll be back later.” Scott promises while standing, grateful Lexi interrupted and he didn't have to explain what’d happened on the Tempest after Reyes brought Anna onboard quite yet.

—

Rehab was a bitch.

After the lecture she’d gotten from both Lexi and Harry about using her biotics in such a weakened state, promising up and down that she’d never do it ever again, Anna had been left on the Hyperion with plenty of time to think about everything while Scott took over the Tempest as Temporary Pathfinder. It was clear that something had gone down between Scott and Reyes, she knew her brother too well to think otherwise, but exactly what happened was a mystery. Since she’d woken up there’d been radio silence from him and it made her uneasy.

“Hey SAM, what time is it on Kadara?”

_It is approaching noon._

Anna was silent, her hand hesitating over the keyboard. “ _This is ridiculous. I'm a grown-ass adult, not a teenager afraid to talk to her crush._ ” she thinks while rolling her eyes. Sending him a brief message, Anna then tried to do everything else under the sun while waiting for a response.

“ _Maybe he just needs time._ ” she thought when nothing came after the better of the day. Anna then started to tackle the backlog of paperwork and reports in order to get her mind off of Reyes and his lack of communication skills.

But one turned into five, then two weeks went by without him replying to any of the messages she sent, making Anna wonder what was going on. Three weeks later she’s back on the Tempest and decided to ask the crew; but apparently they’d taken some Code of Silence because they refused to talk about it, talking about anything except what happened on Kadara.

The only one who comes close is PeeBee. “You don’t look so fresh faced anymore.” she said casually as Anna hobbled her way around the cargo bay, trying to regain movement in her knee. “Not like you just stepped off the shuttle and could be scammed for a few credits.”

Anna pauses mid-step and looks at her. “If you tell me that scars build character I might have to hit you.” 

PeeBee just laughs and gives Anna a good natured bump that nearly sends her sprawling. “That’s Drack’s line. But at least you’ll make the locals think twice before wanting to fight you.”

Liam also steadfastly refused to say what happened as well, instead offering to work out with her. Although Anna thought it was just an excuse for him to be shirtless around Scott because she’s noticed the looks and conversations that’ve been happening between the two since Kadara. “We took care of it, why wonder about the details?” Liam asked while spotting Anna as she attempts pull-ups.

“Because my Vortex glasses are still intact, so what happened?” Anna replied while pulling herself up and down on the bar that Gil welded between the ship's supports much to Kallo’s chagrin. “I mean, I had to find out from Christmas that the rest of the Outcasts are being taken care of. Don’t you think Reyes should’ve at least messaged me that?” Struggling with the last of her reps she dropped down, favoring her left leg but even so her right knee gave out and Anna fell with a shout.

“Shit, you alright?” Liam was by her side in almost an instant, and through the haze of pain Anna realized that everyone else in the bay was watching; Cora pausing her sparring with Vetra, Drack and Jaal looking down from the second level, even Scott walking away from his conversation with Gil and towards the lift.

“Yeah.” Anna simply said after taking a deep breath, swallowing the pain, and took Liam’s hand to help her up. Blinking back the tears, she slowly limped out of the bay towards her quarters; slamming the wall with her fist and biotics flaring once she’s alone, upset at more than just the setback.

—

Anna was fuming, clenching her fists as hard as she could while slowly making her way towards the cargo bay, her biotics creating a faint blue glow around her. Tired of everyone’s evasiveness, she had SAM pull up the log of when they were on Kadara. Now she waited in the cargo bay for Scott to finish talking to the Angaran official and for everyone else to clear out, having been on Aya for a diplomatic mission.

“SAM said you wanted to-Hey!” Scott said as he trudged up the ramp, letting out a shout when Anna swung a fist towards him and took a step back to avoid getting hit. “What the hell?”

“Why the fuck did you do that?” Anna shouted, moving towards Scott to punch him again. 

But Scott was ready and stepped towards the side, fist sailing harmlessly by him. “You’re gonna have to be a little more specific.” 

“Reyes…why the hell did you attack him like that?”

“Because he almost got you killed!” Scott knew this conversation was overdue but at the same time didn't care, they’re not a family that talks easily. “He’s the cause of all of this.” 

“It’s not his fault! Kaetus and the rest of the fucking Outlaws-”

“Reyes pulled you into all of this by telling you who he was.”

“He lied to me until the cave, Scott. He lied about who he really was, right to my fucking face.”

“But you decided not to do anything when you found out!”

Anna let out a frustrated groan, “This isn’t about me! It’s about you assaulting my boyfriend for saving my life.”

Scott raised an eyebrow at his sister calling Reyes her boyfriend but was still so angry with her that he let it pass. Running a gloved hand through his hair, Scott closed his eyes before taking a deep breath, “You almost _died_. We already lost Alec, I can’t lose you as well-not with mom still in cryo!”

Anna paused at Scott’s admission, seeing the worry on his face and knowing that he was telling the truth; with Alec gone and their mom still frozen it was just the two of them. Not knowing what to say, she was silent.

But then his face hardened and Scott shook his head while continuing, “I don’t know why I expected anything different though. You always do this, you always jump without thinking, damn the consequences. Reyes is trouble, why can’t you see that?”

“Because he isn’t just a criminal, despite that’s all you and everyone else on this ship seem to see!” Anna turned to leave, ready for the conversation to be over with. “We’re going to Kadara so I can talk to him.”

“No we’re not. Tann wants us back at the Nexus.”

Anna paused at the statement, ever since Scott took over Pathfinder duties he’d become Tann’s errand boy-much to her annoyance. “Excuse me, who’s Pathfinder? Oh that’s right, me. I don’t give a fuck what Tann wants, we’re going to Karada.”

“I’m Pathfinder while you’re still recovering and we’re going to the Nexus.”

“SAM tell Kallo-” The rest of the sentence was cut off by Scott covering her mouth and anger flashing through her, she elbowed him in the solar plexus. Hard. She then turned around and gave him a shove.

Scott let out a grunt and he stumbled back but managed to keep his balance. “Anna c’mon, you’re gonna hurt yourself.”

“Not until you apologize.”

“Never gonna happen.” Scott moved again as Anna tried to hit him a third time, getting behind her and wrapping his arms around her body, squeezing gently. They had done this countless times before, just to get the other to shut up for a second and listen.

“Scott!” Anna shouted, feeling the pressure on her bruised rib and suddenly she was back in the cave and one of the Outcasts was crushing her chest to get an answer out of her. 

“ _Who’s the Charlatan?_ ”

“…let me go. _Please._ ” she choked out, her voice laced with panic.

Scott let go instantly, realizing that Anna was freaking out. He hadn’t done it on purpose, he just wanted her to listen to him. “Lexi we need you in the cargo bay!” he shouted into his comm as Anna fell on her hands and knees, struggling to breathe. Getting down on the floor beside her, Scott hesitantly put his hand on her arm, “I’m-”

“ _Don’t._ ” Anna snarled, swatting his hand away as her arms trembled from supporting her weight. Closing her eyes as the room spun, Anna was startled when she heard Lexi’s calming voice followed by gentle hands guiding her into a sitting position.

Scott stood off to the side as Lexi started to help his sister and was mad at himself for causing this. Knowing that he was just in the way, Scott turned to leave and nearly tripped over his helmet; giving the thing a solid kick to send it skittering across the floor.

Once the worst of the panic attack had passed and Lexi was helping Anna towards the med bay she whispered, “SAM, tell Kallo to set a course for Kadara.”

—

Reyes’ omni-tool vibrated and he ignored it, guessing it was a message from Anna. Scott had made it clear what he thought of Reyes and that he was to stay away from the Pathfinder. Normally he wouldn’t let the threats get to him, but seeing Anna on the floor in the cave and holding her on the shuttle ride to the Tempest made him realize that knowing his secret came with consequences they hadn’t thought of; that maybe she would be better off if he just cut ties. So when Anna started messaging him, telling him that they needed to talk, he just ignored them.

“At least send her a message that you’re dumping her.” Keema cut through his thoughts and Reyes looked up to see the Angaran give him that look that she normally reserved for when he was being especially idiotic. “That way she’ll get the hint.”

“If I wanted your thoughts on the matter I’d ask for them.” Reyes shot back, pulling up his omni-tool and deleting the message without even looking at it. “How are the raids coming?”

“As well as expected. Word from the slums is that every member of the Outcasts you haven’t killed are at least going deeper into the Badlands, if not going elsewhere entirely. And we’ve found a lot of our supplies that were ‘falling’ off the back of shuttles.”

Reyes hummed as he scrolled through the information, “Good. Tell everyone to let them go, I only care about those who were working with Kaetus.”

“And you’ve done such a-oh, this is a surprise.”

Reyes paused and looked at Keema who was smiling. “What?”

“I just received a message from the Tempest. Apparently they’ll be arriving in a few hours.” Keema tilted her head at Reyes, waiting for his response. When he didn’t reply she said, “Well at least you can tell the Pathfinder to her face.” 

“It could be her brother coming back to threaten me some more.”

“Somehow I doubt that. How should I respond?”

Reyes shrugged as he stood, “Don’t care. I’m headed out to Spirits Lodge to check on our operations there. I’ll be back tomorrow.” Knowing that Keema was still giving him that look he refused to turn around and let her see the frown on his face.

—

“You can’t keep going on like this.” Lexi said as she glanced up from her data pad to where Anna was sitting, sedated enough to rest until they arrived at Kadara. “You need to talk to someone about this, if you don’t want to discuss it with me.”

“Scott’s done that hundreds of times before, he didn’t think this time’d be different. But he didn’t have to attack Reyes.”

“I’m not saying Scott was right, but when Reyes brought you onto the Tempest…it was closer than you might think.” Lexi replied in a slightly subdued voice while turning to set the data pad on her desk. “Well, you tried to transfer SAM to Cora so you had _some_ idea.”

“Are you just going to keep ratting me out SAM?” Anna asked while scowling.

_It is protocol to log every Pathfinder authorization request, even if they are incomplete. Doctor T’Perro wished to access all available data to help with your rehabilitation._

“Whatever. Can I get off when we get to Kadara?” 

Lexi was silent for a moment, sitting down before turning to look at Anna. “If I say no you’re just going to sneak off the first chance you get. I’ll authorize this one trip, but you need to wear a brace and once you get back we’re going to have yet another talk about your rehab.”

When they land on Kadara, Anna felt weird putting on her leather jacket and pistol while slipping a knife into her boot; but that only lasted until she stepped off the Tempest and was drawn back into the busy hum of the port. It was easier to breathe here, less sulfur in the air, but she couldn’t relax with the flood of eyes now following her. Word had gotten out about her…brush with the Outcasts and as she limped through the bustling market could hear bits of the gossip; that the Initiative had sent a ground force to search the Badlands, the ensuing firefight had almost caused a cave-in, finding the bodies of Collective couriers loyal to the Outcasts next to a cliff, their bodies in pieces. Shivering at the last one while turning towards Kralla’s, Anna was impressed at how outlandish the other rumors got to be. She waited for the better part of two hours for Reyes to show up and it wasn’t until her knee started to ache did she give up and after paying her tab, stepped out into the night air. Lightning flashed in the distance and she knew that it was going to rain sometime during the night.

“SAM, you know where Reyes’ apartment is?” she asked in a low tone, making sure no one would overhear her.

_Yes. Shall I set a waypoint?_

“Yeah. And tell the Tempest I won’t be back tonight.”

It was late when Reyes got back to the port, or early depending on how you looked at it, stepping out into the strangely empty market. Normally it would be busy until the early hours of the morning, people stumbling out of Kralla's or milling around whatever stall was still open. But then he caught a glimpse of the Tempest’s hull against the night sky and it clicked, not everyone wanted to be out while the Pathfinder and her crew were in town. Despite the fact that the Initiative had left Kadara alone since the Tempest first landed, the sentiment towards the organization was still overwhelmingly negative (with good reason). For Reyes it was a balancing act of making sure he kept Kadara independent while letting the Initiative know the planet was willing to work with them on certain things.

Rocks crunching under his feet as he neared his apartment, Reyes quietly drew his pistol. Spirits Lodge hadn’t taken as long as he’d thought and had been about to leave when his omni-tool alerted him that someone was currently in his apartment. Other than Anna and Keema, no one knew about the place so he hoped that it was either one of them; but at the same time wasn’t going to take any chances. The outside was quiet, and Reyes settled against the wall before opening the door. It slid open with a quiet hiss and he paused for a few seconds, waiting.

_Mr. Vidal, the Pathfinder wanted me to let you know that she is currently waiting for you in your apartment._

“Thanks SAM.” Reyes murmured while lowering his pistol but still slowly made his way inside. Turning on the lights he saw Anna asleep on his couch with a nearly empty bottle of tequila on the table. Smiling to himself, he holstered his pistol and quietly picked up the bottle-taking a swig. As the alcohol burned its way down his throat, Reyes noticed the brace over her knee and combined with the still fresh scars on her face and the skin around her eye that’s a sickly shade of yellow he tightened his grip on the neck of the bottle. 

If he had been harder on the couriers, if he had insisted on coming along, then maybe most of this wouldn’t have happened. Taking another swig from the bottle Reyes crept towards his bed not wanting to wake her, suddenly feeling exhausted. Taking off his armor he left it scattered on the floor, he’d take care of it tomorrow, and stared at the prefab ceiling while his head spun with thoughts of Anna and everything that had happened.

Reyes wasn’t sure when he finally fell asleep, but was startled awake by a sound. Instantly out of bed with his pistol in hand, he crept around the partition and in the grey light saw Anna sitting up with her head in her hands. “You alright?” he asked while setting the pistol on the table.

Anna tried to say that she was, that it was just a nightmare, but the memory of Kaetus was just so overwhelming. Clenching her hands to try and hide the trembling, she closed her eyes while shaking her head.

Reyes was next to her in an instant, wrapping his arms around her while pressing a comforting kiss on a tear-stained cheek. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.” he whispered while continuing to hold her tight. He wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, whispering words of reassurance and concern until the shaking stopped. 

Anna felt Reyes’ arms and they were solid, grounding her, like everything that had just happened was just a horrible dream but the stinging on her scars as the tears fell told her otherwise. At some point Reyes moved them so they were just laying there, her on top of him, until Anna felt herself drifting off.

“Anna.”

The rumble of his voice roused Anna and she opened her eyes, sitting up to look at him. “I know we need to talk but…not right now.”

“Alright.” Reyes nodded while reaching up to cup the side of her face with his hand, ghosting his thumb across her cheek. He didn’t want sex, she was still hurt enough that it was off the table, which was fine because all Reyes wanted was to let Anna know that he was there for her. That he wasn’t going to run.

Anna closed her eyes and leaned into Reyes’ touch. She should be wary of Kadara now, given everything that's happened, but she’s not. Not when she’s with Reyes. It’s not love, she doesn’t think it’ll ever be that and that’s fine, but she feels safe with Reyes and right now that’s all she wants. “Tomorrow.” she whispered. 

“Tomorrow.” Reyes echoes just as softly and shifts slightly as Anna settles back down on top of him and wraps his arms around her. Closing his eyes, he hears Anna’s breathing slow until he’s drifting off.


	5. Five

The rich smell of coffee woke Anna up and opened her eyes to see that she’s still on the couch, although Reyes was nowhere to be seen. Sleepily running a hand over her face while stifling a yawn, she sat up and realized that for the first time since this whole thing started she felt rested. The nightmares still weighed on her mind, but she felt slightly better.

Standing, she stretched and padded towards the small table where there was a mug as well as a note.

_Had to take care of some business at the market. -Reyes_

“What time is it SAM?” Anna asked while grabbing the mug and pouring herself a cup. 

_Seven in the morning, Kadara time._

“Damn it.” Anna breathed while setting the mug down and opening up her omnitool. Seeing the four messages from Scott she quickly typed an apology; that she’d overslept and didn’t know when she’d be back. Scott messaged back a minute later, the stiffness clear from the single sentence.

_Just let us know when you’re ready to leave._

Letting out a breath, Anna leaned against the counter after picking the mug back up and wrapping her hands around it; everything was just a mess. “ _Although my life has been anything but since coming here so I shouldn’t be surprised._ ” she thought while hearing the door open. Looking up she saw Reyes as he unholstered his weapon and started to unclamp his armor. Avoiding his eyes, she took a sip of coffee and let the bitter liquid warm her.

“Hey.” Reyes said in a quiet voice as he walked towards her. “You eat yet?”

Anna shook her head, “Just woke up.” 

“Are the nightmares always that bad?”

Anna looked at Reyes who’d stopped shy of the small table, hands against the back of the chair and shot him a lop-sided smile. “You know me, if I have a stocked bar on the Tempest I’m good.” 

“I’m sor-”

“Don’t.” Anna interrupted Reyes, while straightening up and slightly lifting her chin. “Don’t say you’re sorry, it’s not your fault.” 

“Of course it is! Kaetus wanted revenge for Sloane’s death. He did that by getting to you because everyone knows how I feel about you.”

“Kaetus wanted us both; he had a chip on his shoulder since you had your guys beat him up, killed Sloane, and I didn’t stop your sniper. It was two birds with one stone.” Anna felt her biotics start to flare and clenched her teeth to regain control, she didn’t need to add fuel to the fire. “But since we’re done you don’t have to worry about me anymore.”

Reyes paused for a moment, processing what Anna had just said. It was true that he’d planned on ending things but after last night he’d started to wonder if that was what he really wanted. “Are we?” he asked in a slow voice while straightening up.

“Well the fact I had to fucking come all the way here to finally talk to you made it pretty fucking clear.” Anna snapped, swallowing hard to keep the tears at bay; she didn’t want to start crying.

Again. 

Figuring their ‘talk’ was over, she set down the mug and pushed off of the counter while saying, “Scott’ll be your contact from-”

Reyes grabbed her arm as she passed by and pulled her towards him, pressing his lips against hers in a hungry kiss. Anna automatically grabbed his shirt, fisting it into her hands, as he picked her up and stumbled towards the counter. Pressing her against it, there was crash and Reyes paused long enough to realize that the mug Anna had placed there seconds before was now in pieces on the floor. But he didn’t care. All that mattered was Anna and showing her that he didn’t want to lose her.

Of all the things that Anna expected from Reyes, kissing her hadn’t been on the list. But the heated kiss made her brain pause long enough for him to press her against the counter and she let go of his shirt to get some kind of purchase, sending the mug filled with coffee crashing to the ground. Returning the kiss with just as much heat, she could taste the mix of coffee and tequila still on his tongue and inhaled sharply as Reyes trailed kisses along her neck. “Reyes…stop.” she gasped out as teeth gently scraped against her skin.

Reyes paused, looking at Anna with concern in his eyes. “Did I hurt you?”

“No…just confused. I thought we were breaking up.” 

Reyes sighed, leaning his forehead against hers. “When you were on the Nexus I wanted to, but then you showed up and…I realized I can’t.” 

“You can’t?” Anna echoed, knitting her eyebrows together in confusion. “If it’s some kind of guilt-”

“No, it’s not that. When you were missing I was ready to tear down the port if that meant getting you back; hell I terrorized the slums just looking for those who betrayed me.” Reyes brushed Anna’s cheek with the back of his hand, mindful of her scars.

Anna smiled slightly at the statement, “Really? I’ve never had someone threaten to tear down a city for me. I feel so special.”

Reyes couldn’t help but chuckle and risked a gentle kiss. Anna didn’t pull away so Reyes hoped that was a promising sign. “Almost losing you scared me and I thought I should just cut ties to make it easier. But I can’t, not when I now know I love you.”

Anna was silent after Reyes’ confession, letting everything sink in. Her mind was yelling at her to tell Reyes off for leading her on yet again, but she remember what Lexi had said on the trip here; that it had been an extremely close call and it had shaken everyone. Looking at Reyes she knew that he was telling her the truth, but did she feel the same way? “ _That’s the million credit question._ ” she thought while closing her eyes and leaned into Reyes’ touch. 

She was reminded why she fell for him in the first place, when she was with Reyes she wasn’t the Pathfinder; it was always ‘Anna’ or ‘Ryder’ and never demanded her time unlike the Nexus or most of the cluster. “ _He might be shit at communicating but so am I._ ”

“What’s on your mind?”

Reyes’ deep voice drew Anna out of her thoughts and she opened her eyes to look at him. “A lot of things. But just to be clear, we’re not breaking up?”

“Not unless you want to.”

Anna didn’t answer right away, her mind still turning over everything Reyes had said. “I…think we need to take a break. I need to deal with…all of this,” she vaguely motioned up and down her body while continuing, “and just…need some space to think about all of this. About us.” 

Reyes would be lying if he’d said that Anna’s reply didn’t hurt; but he could understand that she needed time. Nodding he took a step back and watched Anna gently hop off the counter, favoring her left leg. “If you need anything just message me. I got your back.” he said as Anna reached the door.

Anna turned around to give Reyes a nod and stepped out into the Kadaran morning.

—

Anna made her way through the dock towards Tempest, Reyes’ words echoing in her mind. They’d always made their relationship a casual thing, whenever Anna was on Kadara and had the time they spent it together but now…she didn’t know what to think. She was certainly attracted to him, felt something when she heard him laugh or smile or it was just the two of them dancing in Tartarus with none of their respective responsibilities weighing on them. But she’d been so preoccupied with the vaults and the Kett that any thoughts of their relationship beyond the immediate future had been pushed to the side. 

“A little help here!” 

She stopped at the shout and looked to where it had come from, seeing Gil trying to stop a crate from toppling but was failing. Hurrying over to help him, she charged up her biotics and pushed the field towards the crate before it had a chance to fall. 

“I got it.” she grated out while straining to push the crate back onto the pallet, one final push got it back into place. Suddenly feeling drained, Anna let her arms drop and curled her hands into fists so no one could see them shake. “ _Guess I’m still not at full strength._ ” she thought as it was getting hard to breathe.

“You alright?” Gil asked quietly, seeing his friends face go pale and glanced around to see if anyone else had noticed. But everyone in the dock was concerned with their own business and not what the Pathfinder and her crew were up to.

“Yeah…I just need to recharge.” Anna nodded while Gil threw an arm around her shoulder to mask him helping her towards the ship under the guise of two friends strolling together. 

“Thanks.” she muttered once he helped her sit down on the couch in her quarters and comm Scott. 

“No problem. Gotta look out for each other. Besides whose jump jet am I going to repair if you’re gone?” Gil replied with a wink as the door opened and Scott entered. “Speaking of, I need to fix it so you’ll be set once you’re back in the field.” 

“Poker later!” Anna called out with a mischievous smile as Gil waved her off while walking out. After the door closed she looked at Scott who’d strolled over to her make-shift bar and poured them both drinks before sitting down on the opposite side of the couch. “So…you and Liam huh?”

“Yeah, me and Liam. It’s…good, we’re good.” Scott felt his face heat up slightly at the mention, ducking his head slightly. He knew Anna and Liam had been a thing at the start and felt a bit awkward telling her about it. Plus he still felt like a jerk for everything that’d happened on the way to Kadara.

“Hey,” Anna playfully bumped Scott’s shoulder. “I’m happy for you guys. Besides, he’s _way_ better than the last person you dated.”

“Well, he hasn’t set my car on fire so yeah. Way better.” Scott knew he should say he was alright with Reyes, but he couldn’t; he still hated the man for everything that had happened in the past month and didn’t want to end up arguing about all of this again. “Are you and Reyes…”

“We’re taking a break.” Anna said, staring into her glass like it held the secret to the Quarian ark and all she had to do was look at it long enough. “I was the one who suggested it, I need time to figure everything out.”

Scott was silent for a moment before running a hand through his hair, “How long?”

“I don’t know.” Anna shrugged and stared at the metal floor. “I might have you guys take me to Eladaan.”

“Eladaan? What about being Pathfinder?” 

“I never wanted this!” Anna shouted, feeling the familiar tingle of her biotics as they washed over her. “Alec was the one who fucked this up. Why didn’t he just make Cora Pathfinder like he was supposed to and have her tell us that mom was still alive!?”

“Because Cora would have told the Nexus and they’d of taken her out of cryo!” Scott shot back, taking Anna by the shoulders so she was forced to look at him. “Alec made you Pathfinder because he knew you could do it and not just because of mom.”

Anna was silent for a second, knowing that Scott was right but that didn’t stop the doubts from lingering. After he dropped his hands from her shoulders she stared at the floor, “And I don’t hate you for what happened earlier.”

“I didn’t say anything about it.”

“Scott, I grew up wth you. I know your broody face when I see it.”

“Even though I was a complete jackass and made you freak out?”

“It wasn’t your fault. We’ve done that how many times before? You didn’t know.” Anna sighed while setting down her drink and stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets.

Scott was silent for awhile before setting down his own untouched drink and letting out a sigh, “Just think about it before you do anything okay?”

“Fine.” The word came out harsher than she intended and Scott shot her a look before leaving. Anna watched him go, knowing that he was still angry at Reyes but refusing to budge when it came to the smuggler. Brushing the hair out of her eyes, she stood and looked out the window as the Tempest lifted off and left Kadara. 

—

Anna swore loudly as the fiend let out a roar and charged towards them. “PeeBee, singularity! Scott, I’m out of thermal clips!” she yelled while turning around to face the animal and pulling out her rifle. It was bad enough that raiders had ambushed them and she’d had to swallow the panic that’d made her choke; memories of the last time this happened on Kadara still gave her nightmares from time to time.

“Anna what-”

“Just do it.” Anna said through gritted teeth, watching as the fiend barreled closer and closer towards them.

“Heads up!” Scott called out as he threw one of his thermal clips to Anna. She managed to catch it with her free hand and jammed it into her rifle.

“Gravity going away in three…two…one!” PeeBee called out as she aimed the singularity at the fiend and let it loose, pulling the fiend a few inches off of the ground.

A second after PeeBee used her biotics Anna started firing, Scott joining a beat later. The fiend let out a yell that vibrated through her helmet while pulling back its paw to swipe at them, but it was still hovering off the ground so the swipe did little except send it tumbling. PeeBee couldn’t hold the field any longer so the fiend went crashing to the ground, letting out another roar while bursting into flames. 

“Time to go!” Anna called out as she turned to face Scott and PeeBee.

“But-”

“Go!” Anna snapped, taking a step towards them and the next thing she knew her world went tumbling, slamming into the cliff face. Dazed, Anna slumped down and winced at the pain that flashed through her shoulder and side. Vision blurring, she steeled herself for the second blow but it never came; instead the sound of a shotgun going off followed by a stock hitting scales. Confused, Anna tried to get up but the pain flared and she slumped down gasping for air. Hearing the sounds of the fight continuing in the distance, she pulled at her helmet with trembling fingers and eventually was able to disengage it; gulping in the rush of air that hit her face.

There was the wet sound of flesh exploding and then nothing; the deafening silence and the world still spinning as Anna lay on the ground. Closing her eyes, she started to give into the unconscious black that was tugging at her but then there was movement next to her. Cracking an eye open she wondered if she was hallucinating, “What are you doing here?”

“Couldn’t let you have all the fun.” Reyes replied as he ripped open a medigel pack and started to apply it to her wound as Scott and PeeBee ran towards them. Looking up at Scott he said, “Ditaeon’s closer, we should take her there.”

“But-” Scott started to protest but then he caught a look at Anna’s wounds and closed his mouth.

“Nice to know I’m not the only one seeing him.” Anna mumbled, trying to stay conscious but losing the battle.

—

Her side burned like it was on fire and Anna wanted to sleep the pain away, but the humming in her ears was starting to get annoying. Slowly opening her eyes against the glare, it took a few minutes to focus and she was greeted with the sight of the medical room in Ditaeon. Anna moved to sit up but remembered why she was there too late, the pain in her side nearly causing her to blackout. 

Spots dancing in her vision, she dimly heard movement followed by hands gently pushing her down with a murmur for her to relax. Laying down with a heavy breath, Anna stared at the ceiling until her eyes cleared and then looked to see Reyes rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes. “Didn’t you sleep while I was out?”

“Some. The doc said that SAM’d have you mostly healed in a few hours.” Reyes replied, returning the smile. It had been nearly eight months since they’d last seen each other; he’d kept his distance while Anna flew around the cluster and figured things out for herself, getting his hands on the reports of some of her more interesting exploits (the mission to find the Quarian ark had been a page turner). 

Anna let out a stifled huff at the comment, aware of the stitches pulling on her side. “Yeah well, SAM and I had a long conversation about boundaries that basically boiled down to that he’s going to let me heal at my own rate unless I specifically asked him.” 

“You just want the scars.” 

“You bet.” Looking at Reyes, Anna was surprised that he had waited. She was more than willing to lend a hand with the errant raiders that never seemed to go away on Kadara but was still unsure about how she’d be received at the port so she hadn’t contacted him when she was called back to the planet and knew that he had found out through the Collective. “I’m glad you stayed.” 

Reyes gently brushed the hair from Anna’s eyes, skimming her forehead with his thumb. “I wasn’t there before and…I wanted to this time.” 

Anna closed her eyes at his touch, realizing how much she had missed it these past months. She missed a lot of things, but Reyes and his gentle caresses were near the top of the list. Opening her eyes she wondered if they could somehow find a middle ground again. “Well, Scott isn’t here to shove you into a cabinet.” Anna said lamely, while wondering if she could blame the pain meds for saying such a thing.

Reyes chuckled while leaning back. “That’s true. But when it comes to you we’ve got a truce going. How long do you think Lexi is going to bench you this time?”

“Knowing her at least a week. Maybe-”

“I missed you.” Reyes blurted out, knowing the topic change would gave them both whiplash but at the same time he didn’t want to keep dancing around the issue. “I know you needed time so I kept my distance. But there hasn’t been anyone else.”

Anna was silent for a moment, surprised by Reyes’ statement but knew that she felt the same way. “There hasn’t been anyone else for me either.” she replied in a soft voice, stretching her hand to take his. “I missed you too. Maybe…maybe I can spend a week here and we can…talk.” 

Reyes gave Anna a half-smile before giving her a light kiss on her cheek, “I think I can arrange that.”

He left soon after and as Anna started to drift off into another drug-induced sleep, she knew that no matter what happened after this there was one thing she knew for certain; that Reyes Vidal was in her corner.

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be a one shot but became something much longer, lol. Don't own anything you recognize and enjoy!


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